Mayor’s 2021-22 Budget Address

It is my honour to present the Goondiwindi Regional Council Budget for 2021-22. This Budget is one that I believe will provide sensible direction for the Goondiwindi Region into the future, while providing the scope our region needs to grow and enough opportunity to capitalise on improved seasons and more optimistic investment conditions.

The total operational expenditure for 2021-22 will be $38.8 million, with a capital expenditure of $17.3 million. We were able to achieve hundreds of community projects across the region last year - from upgrading small halls to safety improvements at local parks. I’m pleased to confirm that, once again, Council’s planned expenditure will be shared across every community in the region, from Daymar in the west to Cement Mills in the east.

Once again, Goondiwindi Regional Council will remain debt-free for the 2021-22 financial year – this is a remarkable achievement and we are one of very few councils in Queensland in this favourable position. We were recognised by the Queensland Audit Office just last month as one of just a few councils in the state it considers to be currently financially sustainable in all areas of operating surplus, financial liabilities and asset sustainability. However, we are not immune to rising costs or increasing community expectations and it is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to balance all of this while keeping rate increases to a minimum.

With the immediate economic burden of COVID -19 now easing, and our region no longer drought-declared by the Queensland Government, Council can concentrate on our core responsibility of service delivery. In line with community requests, I’m pleased to say that this Budget will allow Council to maintain its operational funds at their current levels and even expand its services in certain areas. It will also provide for continued investment in our region’s vast network of public infrastructure, such as the current work in Inglewood to establish an additional underground water supply. Council has invested significantly in the water supply assets of every single town in the region in the past few years, with the result that the security of our supply is now the envy of other Darling Downs councils.

While much of our region experienced severe flooding in March this year, a key feature of this year’s capital expense will be $5.6 million to restore the Council roads affected by the 2020 floods – this figure is likely to increase even more as detailed assessments are completed by the state. A further $6.7 million of capital funds will go to rehabilitating, re-sealing and re-sheeting Council roads across the region.

Council will allocate $5.4 million to water and sewerage operations, nearly $2 million to maintaining and upgrading parks and gardens across the region, and just over $1 million to the operation of our libraries, civic centres, museums and the Goondiwindi Cinema and Theatre. Nearly $1 million will go to our rural services.

Council has secured $13.6 million in supplementary external funding from the state and federal governments. This money will be put towards road, water and community infrastructure projects in the Goondiwindi Region, such as constructing new footpaths and improving local parks. This has helped to secure and create more local jobs in the region.

I’m also pleased to say that $423,000 will go back to the community in the form of funding through the Regional Arts Development Fund and Council’s Community Grants and Donations program.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Council agreed to amend its existing procurement policy to ensure that all goods and purchases of up to $5,000 value are purchased locally (where available). I’m delighted to confirm that Council will continue this policy over the next year, meaning more local businesses will have a share in the work planned across the region. Council has also decided to continue its offer of 50% off planning and development application fees for 2021-22, following the success of the initiative last year.

Like all local governments, Council must balance the expense of increasing service expectations and the rising costs of materials, contractors and personnel against a determination to keep rate rises to a minimum. We have made the decision this year to increase general rates by 2.2% (after the 15% early payment discount), which is well below the average rate increases for 2021-22 that have been announced to date by our sister councils across the state. This decision is made with the expectation that 100% of Council expenses are likely to increase by at least CPI this year (including personnel costs to increase by 2.5% through an existing EBA and material costs to increase by an estimated 3%, neither of which we can control for this financial year). Meanwhile, general rates, fees and charges make up only about 58% of Council’s income, with the balance sourced through state and federal grants and contract work.

That we are able to keep rate rises so competitive despite continually rising costs is due, quite simply, to good financial management, and it is a credit to the careful and considered stewardship of this Council that we are recognised as one of Queensland’s most financially sustainable local governments. However, we continue to face tremendous pressure to continually improve and extend our service delivery and, if we are to maintain our sustainability, Council must look to ways we can adapt in the future to best meet the needs of our community. Your councillors and I are committed to this work and are determined to ensure that this Council is in a strong and sustainable position for our citizens now and into the future.